Service Due & a Re-visit to Old Friends

Due to the early ferry docking we see nothing of the area close to Prince Rupert which is supposed to be pretty scenic (to be fair virtually everywhere around here is).
We hope to get to Prince George today some 440 miles distant but the lack of sleep on the noisy ferry makes the going tough at times.

This is the Lakes district of BC although the whole country has plenty, this is Frazer Lake & you can see that the rain has stopped with the weather improving as we travel.

This area is 'Logging' country with huge wood-yards & sawmills along the way, plenty of work here for Dave or Nick.
At this lumber yard, don't they mean 'induction' or is 'indoctrination' the Canadian way?

Prince George is a transit town with no great interest & the next day we are back to Jasper, as you can see John is still suffering from the poor sleep over the last few days.

When we reach McBride we come across some more 'Air-Heads' at a fuel stop!!

These signs are frustrating as we stretch our necks looking for the 'abundant' wildlife, we think the critters put up the notices just for a laugh & then go hide!!

Here we stop to take a view of Mount Robson at 3954m the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, first climbed in 1913 by Kain, MacCarthy & Foster, the flowers are pretty too.

Moose Lake looks glorious in the afternoon sun & has the railway running right beside it, I ask John to organise a train to enhance the picture but he fails.

As we approach Jasper there is another time change as we enter Alberta, we have a dinner appointment with Wayne & Janice at 6pm, we arrive on time (that makes a change!).
We are made very welcome & have a great evening, John now has lots of dirt on Graham his daughter Alex's friend.

It's now back to Edson a short ride away to utilise Don's workshop for our overdue service as we have already done over 6,000 miles since we arrived. 
it's a glorious still day again & the reflections in the shallow lakes are at their best.

Thanks again Don & Pauline as not only did we get the service sorted at a much better location than a hotel car park, we also came across this magnificent Elk on the way!!!
Those antlers must weigh a ton.

We leave Edson on the 24th and make our way to Valemount, the weather deteriorates & we enter rain, this area is classed as a temperate rain forest so I guess we should expect it.
We did however not expect to find hummingbirds this far north, we wonder what they do in the winter but they evidently travel south to Mexico!!!

Skagway & The Inside Passage

What a difference a day makes, after our glorious day for the glacier flight we leave Haines in the rain for the short ferry trip to Skagway.

Skagway was one of the trail start points for the Klondike gold-rush with prospectors arriving from Seattle & San Francisco before a 400 mile journey to Dawson City.
Any successful Gold prospector from those times thoroughly deserved their riches although in reality it was mostly the shops & bar owners that made the big money.

Nowadays the Gold for this area comes from visiting cruise ships & you can see that they dock right at the bottom of the main street.

Four of these monsters arrive every day & they dwarf the restored buildings which mostly now house jewellery & gift shops (some actually owned by the cruise lines!). The town itself has several interesting gold-rush related museums & is very much kept in the character from those times.

The 'White Pass & Yukon Railway' is one of the main attractions & is the reason the town survived, initially serving the gold mining it was later used to supply the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942, now it's just for tourists.

We take a ride up the White Pass & come across this guy by the side of the road.

More mountains again but similar to the rest of the area, can you get mountained out?

Dyea use to be another town at the start of the Chilkoot trail but after Skagway got the train it died, this is all that's left!

Our ferry leaves on the 21st June taking us down the Inner Passage to Prince Rupert, the departure is at 7.15am & initially the weather is not looking too bad.

This was the route taken by the gold-rush ships & several lighthouses were constructed at the time, this hexagonal one at Eldred Rock is the only surviving original one from 1905.

The ship docks at several points along the way including Petersburg, we also catch sight of a few killer whales but they are too brief for us to grab any pictures.

At Ketchikan there is the largest dry-dock in Alaska & busy float-plane activity, the route is very scenic but persistent rainfall & low cloud means we don't see it at its best.

The ferry docks at 2.15am so for the first & hopefully the last we ride a few hours in the dark, & rain, the headlights look a little dim at first but we get used to it.

Flight Over the Mountains & a Look Around Haines

With the Glacier Bay National Park next to Haines it's an opportunity so see them from the air, we take a flight in a 1956 DHC-2 Beaver.

The Park covers 3.3 million acres & our flight takes us over the East & West arm.

It's a fabulous day with little wind so we have the chance to see the glories of nature at it's best.

The mountains & glacier lakes spread out everywhere, Paul the pilot has had the Beaver for 2 years & says it's the perfect plane for his work.

Between us we take a lot of pictures & video but it's difficult to pick out the best shots, hopefully these give you a perspective of our views.

The plane was imported from India & rebuilt over many years before arriving here in Haines, it may be 58 years old but it's immaculate & better than new, I wish my bike was in the same shape!

After the flight we take a walk around Fort Seward, this was built for troop to bring some order to the area following the 1898 gold-rush.

One of the buildings houses an arts collective with some of the indigenous locals carving totem poles to order, they only do this outside of the fishing season.

A restored car from the period is also on display & the Officers quarters are some of the best houses in the town. 

The GI's who were stationed here liked the fort & it's location so much that when it was decommissioned they purchased the site, the Lincoln bumper sticker shows what they think.

Another quirk of the town is The Hammer Museum with a collection of around 1500 on display, I wonder if Nigel has all these in his shop?

John likes BIG tools & gives this one a cuddle!!

The Alcan To Haines

We're back on the Alcan today & return to Canada from Tok to Destruction Bay & then on to Haines, there are mountains everywhere in Alaska & we skirt the St Elias Range.

Turning onto the Haines cut-off we re-enter Alaska, it's good to get off the Alaska Highway as the last section was like a roller-coaster & my rear suspension was causing the tyre to run on the mudguard, must wind it up a bit!

The passes here are not that high with no 'ladder' roads as they pass along the valleys instead.

The Chilkat river flows along the side of the road & a modern version of the Indian 'Fish Wheel' is in operation, I'm not sure how effective these fish traps are but I didn't see any caught in the few minutes I watched it in operation.

Haines is a lovely spot & the sunshine shows it at it's best.

There is a brewery in Haines as well as a distillery, we try their Gin & Vodka but the Whisky needs another 2 years before it's ready.

Once again the locals show how important the Salmon is to the economy around here, I'll have some for Tea (that's Dinner to everybody outside of NZ).

Valdez, back to Tok & a Moose in da' Hoose

Leaving our accommodation at Tangle River Inn the sky is clear & it's another beautiful day in wonderful countryside.

The still air makes great reflections in the lake opposite.

In the guidebooks they recon you have a 70-80% chance of seeing wildlife along the Denali Highway, we saw nothing although there was lots of Caribou poo around, they are here somewhere!!

We take a detour to Chitina with the intention of visiting the old Copper mine at Kennicot but the road is bad and we turn round after a few miles, the road crosses the Copper river and there are many people out fishing for Salmon with nets, everyone is allowed to take 25 fish each & they are pretty big.

Chitina was a bit of a boom town when the mine was open & a few relics remain from that time.

The weather unfortunately deteriorates as we cross the Thompson pass into Valdez although the town & setting look stunning.

The Seagulls also like Valdez for the discarded Salmon from the fishermen.

Salmon & Halibut fishing is the main industry & passtime down here, it's also the Southern end of the Trans-Alaska pipeline we followed North a few days ago.

The following day we retrace our steps for some of the way returning to Tok, the weather is a little wet so not a great day for photographs, we do however come across this Moose & it was sunny at the time.

Alaska Rocks

Heading South from Fairbanks on the George Parks highway we are heading for the Denali Highway, another dirt road from Cantwell to Paxson.

The scenery is magic from the start but just gets better & better, creeks, lakes & mountains.

The Maclaren River Lodge has no rooms but it does have an interesting plane.

Why when ever you talk to people about the USA do they never mention how stunning Alaska is? you should try to visit this place as well as the Yukon, you will not be disappointed.

This is taken outside of our hotel at the Tangle River Inn, it's around midnight but no sunset, the sun dips but then comes right on back up again.

We meet up with Mike, Bob & Paul from the UK on hired KLR's for the 3rd day in a row, we share a beer & have a great evening.